Character's Hobbies

[Ann]

I like to mention my characters hobbies in my books.

What hobbies have you given your characters? Are they similar to hobbies you have?

[Harmony]

Um, so far I haven't given them any hobbies. Ahem.
Maybe I should?
Can't wait to hear yours :3
Mine have plenty of idiosyncrasies, but I guess they've been too overwhelmed so far for playtime :D

[Jack]

I consider it but rarely does a hobby "fit" with the plot.

[Mark]

Wow ! I've never thought of doing that, and what a cool idea ! It'd be a subtle way of giving more personality to the character. I'm going to implement that, thanks for sharing :-)

[Ann]

@Harmony and Jack I use hobbies to make the characters more relatable. They needn't be devled into too much. Here is one example from my current book :3

Blood, the main male character in A Dance With Fury took up painting at his wife's suggestion. But 'nothing he ever paints looks real, even the clouds have a dream like quality to them' which is related to the way he sees the world.

@Mark, I have some good ideas sometimes :p

[Harmony]

@ Bisky - great stuff! :3

[G.G.]

You're right Bisky. It does add a little something.

I never paid attention to 'hobbies' before, because after all, my protagonist is stranded on another world. However, at some point he is bored and reads half of his host's book collection in no time. (He reads fast, very fast. Maybe I gave him that talent because I wished I could do that. It'd be nice to thin my 'to be read' list!) Also, in the sequel, he mentions something about reading a lot… so I guess that would make reading his hobby.

Another of my characters used to paint, but it's mentioned only once when my protagonist first sees one of his paintings. I didn't plan to make him a painter, but it's kind of a hint for the sequel, since the woman in the painting will play a major role in it.

[Ann]

That's where I think it can be really useful ^-^

Also I used to draw alot of fan art. It makes it easier to come up with everyday scenes when you know their hobbies :I

[Mark]

I'm wondering if giving the character a hobby that you wouldn't expect would be a good twist, such as a big, tough guy being secretly into flower arrangements. Or would that be too unlikely, and actually be a detriment to the story ?

[Ann]

Depends how he got into the hobby, maybe he started it to date a girl who was a gardener and it just took off from there xD

[Nicole]

@Harmony Do it!

@Mark that would be hilarious and of course you can do that! Haha like Bisky said just make sure to give a little backstory on how the char got into that and it's relevance to either plot or to show characterization (ie tough guy has a soft side/weakness).


My characters main hobby is martial arts. She did totally get that from me :'D I used to do that as a hobby too but she's much more talented than I am at it, since I stopped at an intermediate level. My chars been doing it her whole life tho haha.
Also, I've mentioned before that she knows a few languages but I don't think that's a hobby vs something she picked up from moving around her whole life. Hmm...

[Harmony]

@Nicole - lol :D

Guess my chars are gonna have hobbies from here on in!

[Brian]

My main character's main hobby is playing video games. Another character is into doing extensive research into anything and everything. She's a bit compulsive.

[Nicole]

@harmony that's the spirit! :D

[Kamil]

My main male has only one hobby; anything involving the heroine. Whatever she's up to, that's what he'll be interested into. like when she though a puppy was adorable, he started picking up stray dogs.

[William]

My characters have a lot of hobbies. Beebop's character likes to hunt gemstones (so do I), Nana likes to cook and runs a food blog (so does my lovely and adorable bride), and the children like to ride 4 wheelers, hunt gemstones with their grandfather, and water ski. Though they haven't been 4 wheeling or water skiing, they will soon!

[Karen]

My characters do have hobbies, character traits, etc. similar to mine or those of my friends. I often integrate my favourite locations. You will regularly encounter characters who cannot do without their coffee, always opt for a Beamish, are know-it-alls, are in or travel to Skerries, Boston, Erlangen, etc. ;)
This makes them even more authentic.

[Mark]

Karen's mention of characters needing coffee has reassured me that I have not neglected MC hobbies ( whew ! ) One of my MC's has such an addiction to coffee that he carries baggies of instant in his pockets.

[G.G.]

@Mark I think that would be more of a character's trait but I might be wrong. Unless he spends his spare time in a coffee shop. ;)

I admit, one has to be seriously addicted to coffee to carry bags with him. Geez! I might have to do something like that when we go visit the in-laws for the holidays. :p

Although he doesn't carry instant coffee with him, one of my characters has an addiction to coffee also. While he has good reasons, the readers only learn of them later.

[Nicole]

Hahaha that's so funny my character is also a coffee addict. Hmm...wonder if there's something to that. *sips coffee*

[Carl]

Hmm...

[Nicole]

Haha Carl ^^

[J. David]

Certain characters I have shown their hobbies when it helps define them. One of the main characters in my current series has all the same hobbies I do, pretty much: comics, movies, tv, games, etc. Another character's obsession with a particular boy band was shown. Stuff like that.